1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card (which is also called a smart card) incorporating an integrated circuit such as a memory or a microprocessor (CPU), and a display device that can display an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several ten bytes of data only can be memorized in a magnetic card that can memorize data magnetically. However, an IC card (an electronic card) incorporating a semiconductor memory, normally, can memorize about 5 KB of data or more. The IC card can assure much more capacity than a magnetic card. Further, the IC card has merits that the IC card does not have a risk that data is read out by a physical means such as putting iron sand on the card, different from a magnetic card, and that data memorized in the IC card is not easily falsified.
It is noted that a category of a card typified by an electronic card includes an ID card to serve as an identification paper, a semi hard card having flexibility such as a plastic card, and the like.
In recent years, an IC card has a higher function by being provided with an integrated circuit such as a CPU as well as a memory. The application thereof is wide-ranging, for example, it is applied to an ATM card, a credit cart, a prepaid card, a patient's registration card, an identity card such as a student card or an employee ID card, a season ticket, a membership card, etc. As an example of the high function, an IC card for which a display device that can display simple characters and numbers is provided and for which a keyboard to input numbers is provided is described in Reference 1 (Reference 1: Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. H2-7105).
As described in Reference 1, a new use becomes possible by adding a new function to an IC card. Nowadays, electronic commerce, teleworking, remote medical care, remote education, computerized administrative services, automatic toll revenue from an expressway, image distribution service and the like using an IC card are to be put to a practical use and it is considered that an IC card will be used in a wider field in the future.
By the way, an integrated circuit used for an IC card is formed from a chip (referred to as IC chip) using a single crystal semiconductor substrate and is mounted on the IC card. The thickness of an IC card is generally about 0.76 mm, whereas the thickness of an IC chip is several hundred p.m. Therefore, there is naturally a limitation on the size of an IC chip in holding the intensity for bending of an IC card to some extent. Accordingly, it is difficult to mount much more integrated circuits that are larger in a circuit scale or a memory capacity, on an IC chip having a limitation on its size, thereby preventing the integrated circuits from having higher functions.
Cost reduction of an IC card is also an important object to spread an IC card in a wider field.
As an IC card is used more widely, a misapplication of an IC card becomes a bigger problem measurably. A future issue is how securely identification is performed when an IC card is used. Printing a picture of a face on an IC card is one of measures for preventing the misapplication of the IC card. It is possible, by printing a picture of a face, that a third person can identify a person to be identified at a glance when the person uses his/her IC card, if such identification is not performed in an unattended terminal operation such as ATM. A misapplication can be prevented efficiently in the case where a security camera that can take a picture of a user's face at close range is not provided. However, in general, a picture of a face is transferred on an IC card by a printing method, and thus there is a pitfall that the picture of the face is easily changed by forgery.